When the tornado of 2008 ravaged Irene and Natasha Grodski’s Forest View property, they never expected to find what they did!
The tornado was so severe that it uprooted 30 trees on the Valley Drive site, including a huge Silver oak tree. In the aftermath of the clean up, Irene was gardening when she discovered a stone artefact in the earth where the Silver Oak had been.
The Grodskis bought the land in 1982 in what was at the time a very undeveloped area.
“We are located just above the river and near a waterfall so it would have been the perfect place for a settlement. We would love to find more information about what we have found and about the history of the area. It looks like an old stone spear head or a tool used to for skinning or cutting.”
Natasha added, “We would be very interested to know what other people’s perspectives are on it or if other Forest Hills residents have found similar objects of interest.”
Local Kloof Historian, Robin Lamplough who had a look at a photograph of the implement said, “This is not my field but to my untutored eye it looks as if it may be an Early Stone Age biface or handaxe, probably used for digging, chopping and cutting. In the Giba Gorge a Stone Age site has been thoroughly investigated by archaeologists, who believe that it was regularly occupied by hunter-gatherers for perhaps 70 thousand years, so clearly there has been a long history of settlement here.”
“My guess is that the Molweni and the Nkuthu Gorges, which make up the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, both have similar sites waiting to be uncovered. Forest Hills overlooks the Nkuthu valley.”
Anyone who has any history on the area, has found other artifacts or knows what the artefact might be can contact The Hilltop on kerryi@dbn.caxton.co.za.
